Following the latest round of Conference results, Aldershot go top of the league after they won 2-0 at Weymouth last night. This takes the Shots up to 40 points, 15 ahead of Oxford United, and one more than second-placed Torquay United. Today, the Gulls lost at home for the first time this season, going down 2-1 to fourth-placed Cambridge United, for whom Rob Wolleaston scored the winner four minutes from time.[@player]wolleaston, rob[/@player] Stevenage Borough are third after they won 2-0 at Northwich Victoria, United's opponents in the FA Cup first round next Saturday. Northwich remain bottom of the league, still without a league win and having lost all nine of their away games.

Burton Albion are fifth after they lost 2-0 at home to Kidderminster Harriers, who climbed above Oxford as a result. Burton are nine points ahead of the Yellows. Forest Green Rovers are sixth after they won 2-0 at Ebbsfleet United, who are ninth. Histon's fine season continued after their 1-0 win over fourth-bottom Altrincham keeps them in seventh place. Eighth-placed Exeter City had the biggest result of the day, winning 5-1 at third-bottom Stafford Rangers. Steve Basham scored the fifth goal with a 90th-minute penalty.[@player]basham, steve[/@player]

Droylsden remain second from bottom after picking up just their second away point of the season with a 1-1 draw at Woking, while Salisbury City lost 1-0 at home to Grays Athletic. Today's other match saw Halifax beat Crawley 3-0, while tomorrow's game is a contest between fifth-bottom Farsley Celtic and York City, one place above them.

So, despite their terrible loss at Rushden & Diamonds on Thursday, United drop just one place, to 11th. However, it is clear that the Us are on the slide, and unless something fairly drastic changes the side is condemned to another season of Conference football next time around, if it isn't already too late. The most obvious change, and the one that most fans feel would be beneficial, is a change of manager. Jim Smith is a hero to most Oxford supporters, certainly those of us who followed the club through the early 1980s, and it hurts to see him become an object of hatred, or even dismay, to fellow fans, but it is clear that the intervening years have left him struggling with certain aspects of management, and Rage Online reluctantly believes that it would be in both his and United's best interests if he called it a day. It is with a heavy heart that we've reached this conclusion, not least because we feel that the club needs stability at the top after the Firoz Kassam years of changing manager at the drop of a hat following every poor run of results, or as a result of fan pressure, which is never a reliable indicator of the correct way forward in these situations. However, Smith's tenure now seems destined to end unhappily, and his position has become more untenable with each passing poor result or strange tactical decision. Should Smith decide to step down (and it is unlikely that chairman Nick Merry would go so far as to sack him, for a number of reasons), then it is likely that Darren Patterson would take on managerial duties, at least in the interim. Although Patto has been lined up as Smith's successor, and could very possibly do the job admirably, we would like to see a proper recruitment and selection process, with adverts for applicants and interviews for those short-listed. For too often the club has made appointments on the basis of recommendations or friends of friends, and this is one of the reasons why there has been such short termism at the helm. Now would be a perfect opportunity to rectify that situation, and bring in someone with the ability to turn things around. It may already be too late for this season, but then again, we need to look ahead two or three seasons.